The subject matter herein relates generally to electrical connectors, and more particularly, to interface contacts for electrical connectors.
To meet digital multi-media demands, higher data throughput is often desired for current digital communications equipment. Electrical connectors that interconnect circuit boards must therefore handle ever increasing signal speeds at ever increasing signal densities. One application environment that uses such electrical connectors is in high speed, differential electrical connectors, such as those common in the telecommunications or computing environments. In a traditional approach, two circuit boards are interconnected with one another in a backplane and a daughter board configuration using electrical connectors mounted to each circuit board.
However, signal degradation occurs along the signal transmission lines of the systems. Problem areas include the interfaces between the electrical connectors and the circuit boards, as well as the mating interface between the electrical connectors. At the mating interface between the electrical connectors, difficulties arise in matching a characteristic impedance of the signal transmission line.
A need remains for electrical connectors that create reliable electrical connections between signal contacts at the mating interface thereof. A need remains for electrical connectors that better match the characteristic impedance of the signal transmission lines at the mating interface between the electrical connectors.